Opel boss vows to fight back at the 'Ring

The Russelsheim marque failed to score a single point in Sunday's races after persistent handling problems relegated it to an also-ran on the Hockenheim short circuit. In contrast, arch-rivals Mercedes took a top-six sweep in both races, while 2000 tail-ender Audi easily outpaced the Astra V8 Coupe fleet with its new and still unsorted TT-Rs.

Opel has laid the blame for its poor performance on the Astra's inability to get heat into its Dunlop control tyres, but now has less than a fortnight to solve the problem before it races at the Nurburgring on May 6.

"This is definitely our worst weekend ever," said Strycek. "Basically, we couldn't get the tyre to work while the others could. But we'll find a solution. We've overcome problems before and I promise you we'll be back."

But after setting competitive testing times at the track earlier in the month, Opel is at a loss to explain why it was suddenly over a second off the pace on one of the shortest tracks on the DTM calendar.

Cold temperatures and excessive rubber pick-up have been cited as factors, but driver Manuel Reuter has defended the basic design of the car.

"I don't think our package is too far away," he said. "But we tested in cold conditions at the A1-Ring and were fine, so I think and I hope that maybe this is a Hockenheim problem and not just a cold weather problem."

During pre-season testing, estimates put the amount of mileage run in dry conditions as low as 25 percent, with the majority conducted on damp to fully-wet track surfaces.